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2022 Supreme(Online)(Kar) 47764

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU

DATED THIS THE 24TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2022

PRESENT

THE HON9BLE MR. RITU RAJ AWASTHI, CHIEF JUSTICE

AND

THE HON9BLE MR.JUSTICE KRISHNA S. DIXIT

AND

THE HON9BLE MS. JUSTICE J. M. KHAZI

WRIT PETITION NO. 3821 OF 2022(GM-RES-PIL)

BETWEEN:

1. ALL INDIA DEMOCRATIC WOMENS ASSOCIATION,

NO J 129, 1ST FLOOR, 10TH A CROSS,

LAKSHMINARAYANAPURA,

BENGALURU 560021.

REPRESENTED BY ITS VICE PRESIDENT

SMT. VIMALA K S.

2. SMT. SHAMEEM

W/O SARDAR,

AGED ABOUT 45 YEARS,

RESIDENT AT 205,

VIJNAPURA, KOTHUR,

AMBEDKAR NAGARA,

NEAR GOVERNMENT HIGH SCHOOL,

BENGALURU 560 016.

& PETITIONERS

(BY SMT. KRITI SINGH, SENIOR ADVOCATE FOR

SRI. ADITYA CHATTERJEE, ADVOCATE.)

AND:

1. STATE OF KARNATAKA

REPRESENTED BY THE CHIEF SECRETARY

VIDHANA SOUDHA,

BANGALORE 560001.

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2. DIRECTOR GENERAL AND

INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE,

KARNATAKA STATE POLICE HEADQUARTERS

NO 2, NRUPATHUNGA ROAD,

BANGALORE 560 001.

KARNATAKA.

3. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION,

REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY

GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA,

M S BUILDING,

BANGALORE 560001.

& RESPONDENTS

(BY SRI. PRABHULING K NAVADGI, ADVOCATE GENERAL A/W

SRI. M VINOD KUMAR, AGA)

THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLE 226 OF

THE CONSITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO i)ISSUE A WRIT OF

CERTIORARI AND STRIKE DOWN THE IMPUGNED GOVERNMENT

ORDER DATED 05/02/2022 BEARING NO. EP 14 SHH 2022,

BANGALORE (ANNEXURE-A) AND ETC.,

THIS PETITION COMING ON FOR ORDER THROUGH VIDEO

CONFERENCE THIS DAY, KRISHNA S. DIXIT. J., MADE THE

FOLLOWING:

This public interest litigation has been filed seeking

following reliefs:

<i) Issue a writ of certiorari and strike down

the

impugned

Government

Order

dated

05.02.2022

bearing

no.EP

14

SHH

2022,

Bengaluru, (Annexure-A);

ii) Issue a writ of mandamus or such other

direction to the Respondents to provide protection

to students and women being harassed for

wearing

headscarves/hijabs

in

educational

institutions and other public spaces;

iii) Issue a writ of mandamus or such other

direction to the Respondents to identify culprits

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responsible for the harassment of students and

women harassed for wearing headscarves/hijabs

and lodge FIRs and investigate the matter; and

iv) Pass such other orders as the Hon9ble

Court may deem fit in the interest of justice and

equity.=

2. First petitioner, an unregistered association,

claims to be <A Womens Organization committed to achieve

democracy, equality and womens emancipation= having <a

Pan India Membership of over 1 crore.= It claims to have

the core objective of striving to unite women and widen

their participation in the struggles against authoritarianism,

communalism, separatism and other divisive forces and

uphold democracy, secularism, national integration, etc. No

evidentiary material like the bye-laws or register of

proceedings is placed on record nor quoted averred in the

petition.

3.

In this purported PIL, the first petitioner is

sought to be represented by its Vice President Smt.Vimala

K.S on the basis of Resolution dated 15.2.2022, a copy

whereof is at page 86 of the petition. The first sentence in

the Resolution reads <The Karnataka State Committee of All

India Democratic Women9s Association met on Feb-15th-

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2022=. Who were the Committee members in the meeting,

is not forthcoming. The particulars as to who all have

signed the Resolution are apparently absent. It contains the

name of one 8Devi9 who claims to be the President.

Ordinarily, when an Association, registered or not, seeks to

sue, it has to produce the bye-laws to prima facie show that

there is authorization appropriately granted for suing. This

apart, the President cannot be a sole signatory to the

Resolution, unless the bye-laws otherwise provide for that.

4.

The second petitioner Smt.Shameem claims to

be a member of first petitioner-Association and that she has

taken active measures in bringing to light the issues of

marginalized women. She also claims to be a Muslim

women having three daughters. No particulars of these

daughters have been furnished to ascertain her 8deep

concern9 about the impact of the impugned Government

Order dated 5.2.2022 on the fundamental rights of

education. Whether these three daughters are school going

children and whether those schools whichever they be,

have prescribed the school uniform/dress code, are not

forthcoming. Thus, the essential credentials for maintaining

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a PIL of the kind are militantly lacking. That apart,

apparently there is an arguable amalgam of private interest

of second petitioner and public interest of first petitioner.

Therefore, a PIL cannot be maintained vide SHEELA

BARSE vs. UNION OF INDIA & OTHERS,(1988) 4 SCC

226 wherein the Apex Court observed:

<In

a

public

interest

litigation,

unlike

traditional dispute resolution mechanism, there is

no determination or adjudication of individual

rights.

While

in

the

ordinary

conventional

adjudications the party structure is merely bi-

polar and the controversy pertains to the

determination of the legal consequences of past

events and the remedy is essentially linked to

and limited by the logic of the array of the

parties,

in

a

public

interest

action

the

proceedings cut across and transcend these

traditional forms and inhibitions&=

5.

This PIL seeks to lay a challenge to the Govt.

Order dated 5.2.2022 which has already been called in

question in several Writ Petitions by the aggrieved students

and their parents, in batch of Writ Petitions. The Special

Bench comprising three Judges has been hearing these

cases

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